Eagles-Cowboys Recap: Five Factors From Philadelphia's 20-16 Loss

In a game that would determine who would be in first place of the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys 20-16 in a game that went down to the wire. With the win, the Cowboys improved to 6-2 on the season, while the Eagles now remain one game behind them in the standings at 5-3.

The Cowboys won this game simply because they were the better team. They out performed the Eagles on their own field, all while increasing their win streak to four games.

With the heartbreaking loss to the Cowboys, here are a few interesting thoughts and facts from the game regarding the Eagles.

The Struggles of Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb may be one of the most difficult players to figure out in the NFL.

In week six against the Oakland Raiders, he looked horrendous, finishing 22-of-46 for 269 yards and no touchdowns. His performance was similar to the game against the Baltimore Ravens from last season, only there were no interceptions.

Over the next two weeks against the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, McNabb looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the league, throwing for a combined 396 yards and four touchdowns on 32-of-48 passing.

Just when Philadelphia thought McNabb was at the top of his game again, he put on a performance against the Cowboys that showed why Eagles fans get on his case from time-to-time.

Against the Cowboys, McNabb finished just 16-of-30 for 227 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He missed wide-open receivers throughout the game, missing opportunities to make big plays by over or underthrowing his targets.

Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid and His Questionable Field Goal Decision

Sure, the decision by Eagles head coach Andy Reid to kick a field goal with under five minutes left to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 20-16 would be wise in most situations.

However, with no timeouts remaining and a defense going against a running back by the name of Marion Barber, the chances of the Eagles having enough time to get the ball back and march down the field for six, seemed a little ridiculous at the time.

On the Cowboys first play on offense with 3:33 left following a field goal by Eagles kicker David Akers, Barber ran for an easy 16 yards and a first down. Three plays later, quarterback Tony Romo found tight end Jason Witten on a third-and-three for five yards, which sealed the victory up for the boys in blue.

When looking back at the situation, the Eagles were in late in the fourth quarter, it’s obvious Reid should have made the decision to go for it on that fourth-and-11 in hopes of maybe tying the game. There’s a better chance of tying the game and winning in overtime, then kicking a field goal, forcing the Cowboys to go three-and-out, and getting the ball back with just enough time to score a touchdown and win the game–with no timeouts.

At The End of the Day, the Eagles Can Only Blame Themselves For the Famous 4th-and-inches

The players and fans can say what they want about the refs blowing the forth-and-inches call at the beginning of the fourth quarter, where McNabb appeared to have rolled over his teammates enough to reach the first down. At the end of the day, the Eagles have nobody to blame but themselves.

After wide receiver DeSean Jackson hauled in a nine yard reception from McNabb, they were looking at a second-and-one from the Cowboys 45-yard line.

Three plays later, the Eagles failed to get a first down and gave the Cowboys great field position on their own 45-yard line.

One yard; one yard is all that stood in the way of the Eagles and a first down. The fact they failed to gain one simple yard on three attempts, is nothing short of embarrassing. Even if the refs were responsible for blowing the call on McNabb’s spotting, the Eagles should never have been in the situation for a forth-and-inches in the first place.

McNabb and Romo’s Streak Ends, Austin’s Continues

Before last Sunday’s matchup, both McNabb and Romo each had an impressive streak of throwing passes without an interception. Unfortunately for both quarterbacks, both streaks came to an end last weekend.

While McNabb’s streak ended at 118 passes when he was intercepted by Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh, Romo’s streak came to an end at 143 when he was picked-off by Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown in the third quarter.

Even though McNabb and Romo’s impressive streaks without an interception came to an end, Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin continued his hot-streak of scoring a touchdown, finding the end zone for the fourth game in a row. In fact, his 49-yard touchdown reception from Romo with just over eight minutes left, ended up being the difference maker in the win for the Cowboys.

All streaks must come to an end at some point, lucky for his Austin, he gets to enjoy his streak for at least another week.

Eagles Are Now 0-7 Since 2006 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football

One of the main headlines entering last Sunday’s game was that over the last 15 years, the Cowboys were 4-11 when playing in Philadelphia, each win coming during a night game.

Not only did the Cowboys claim their fifth victory in a primetime game, but they also prevented the Eagles from recording their first victory on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

With the loss to the Cowboys, the Eagles remain winless on Sunday Night Football since the program switched over from ESPN to NBC in 2006. Hopefully, the team will get its act together and end the streak this season considering they have two more Sunday night games scheduled for the season: November 22 against the Chicago Bears and December 13 against the New York Giants.

Dan Parzych Is the Eagles Fan Voice for NFLTouchdown.com